Will the Cleveland Cavaliers be players in the free-agent market? Hey, Mary!

View full sizeSome Cavaliers fans are eager for their team to chase potential free agents such as the Lakers' Dwight Howard. But Mary Schmitt Boyer is skeptical, to say the least.Mark J. Terrill, Associated Press

Hey, Mary: Do you expect the Cavs to be players in free agency or will they continue to build through the draft? -- Thomas Ryan, Fostoria

Hey, Mary: What free agents could the Cavs go after this off season? -- Rob Brady, Fremont

Hey, Mary: Do you have any idea what free agents the Cavs might go after this off season? Any specific players we want in maybe a trade? There were rumors about Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge and Dwight Howard. -- Eric, Parma

Hey, Mary: Any chance the Cavs make a run at Dwight Howard? Or how about maybe a trade for Kevin Love? -- Larry Persinger, Fulton

Hey, Thomas, Rob, Eric and Larry: I see we all read the same websites.

As always, the Cavs will explore any and all options to improve, including the free-agent market, although they are more likely to build through the draft and trades. The one thing they don't want to do is overpay. They have to inquire about Howard, but there's no way he signs with the Cavs over the Lakers, or maybe the Rockets or Hawks. I don't think Love will be available now that Flip Saunders is replacing David Kahn as president of basketball operations in Minnesota. Saunders reportedly has asked Love to represent the team at the lottery and wants to take him to a playoff game so he can experience the atmosphere for himself. I don't think Love cared for Kahn. I'm also not sure why everybody thinks LaMarcus Aldridge would be available for draft picks or young players. Much like the Cavs, the Blazers have rebuilt and now would like to win.

Hey, Mary: Do you think the Cavaliers have any interest in the following free agents -- Al Jefferson, Chase Budinger, Andre Iguodala (if he opts out), Corey Brewer or Andre Blatche? Also, why do I hear we don't want four rookies on squad next season? Playoff team Golden State has three rookies in their current rotation. You can't build through the draft if you don't use the draft -- especially this year since we own the first and third picks of the second round. -- Craig Hill, Indianapolis

Hey, Craig: Iguodala might be someone who interests them. But, again, they don't want to overpay for a free agent. As for the youngsters, the Cavs already will have two players starting their third season (Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson) and at least two players starting their second (Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller, and possibly Kevin Jones). Adding four more rookies would mean eight or nine players with less than three years of experience, which likely would delay any success a number of years.

In addition to five rookies and a second-year player (Klay Thompson) the Warriors' other nine players have 57 years of experience, including Richard Jefferson with 11. The Cavs have rebuilt enough that they need to start winning some games and that likely means adding some experienced free agents instead of four rookies.

Hey, Mary: How do you feel about trading our two second rounders in 2013 and a No. 1 in 2014 for a proven player like Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge? What are the chances the Cavs go after Mickael Pietrus, a great defender who can shoot the three and will teach leadership, or Kyle Korver, a great 3-point threat off the bench? You can never have enough shooters. -- Darryl Holmes, Houston

Hey, Darryl: I do think the Cavs will be looking to package some picks in an effort to move up in the draft (depending on where they land in the lottery) or make a trade. But I'm not sure why everyone thinks the Blazers would be willing to part with Aldridge for a bunch of youngsters. I like Pietrus and Korver, but I think Korver, in particular, will attract a lot of offers worth more than what the Cavs would be willing to offer. The Cavs have money to spend, but they want to be disciplined about it.

Hey, Mary: Any word on who Mike Brown is considering hiring as his assistant coaches and if there is an offensive philosophy he prefers other than four players standing around and watching LeBron James or Kyrie Irving? -- Joe Mcglynn, Willoughby

Hey, Joe and Kevin: I think Brown is just starting to put together his wish list. John Kuester, who was one of his assistants in Cleveland and Los Angeles, is the only name that has been mentioned, but it's not clear if he's interested. Some other candidates may be on teams that are still playing, which could delay things. Brown's offense certainly was not as good as his defense, but when James broke off plays to go one-on-one, that wasn't Brown's fault.

Hey, Mary: How are Dion Waiter's knee issues? Will he be getting surgery over the summer? -- Giovanni Giacomo, East Cleveland

Hey, Giovanni: Waiters was able to play at the end of the season and no surgery is scheduled at this point.

Hey, Mary: Dion Waiters had an up and down rookie season. What can fans realistically expect in year two? -- J.B., Columbus

Hey, J.B.: Waiters' rookie season was not atypical, so fans can expect improvements on offense and defense. He did improve his shot selection as the season went on and made better decisions about driving to the basket instead of settling for long jump shots.

Hey, Mary: Do you think Mike Brown can get Kyrie Irving to play any more defense than Byron Scott could? -- Steve McGuire, Cambridge

Hey, Steve: The Cavs are confident that the entire team will play better defense under Brown, and that includes Irving, who knows it must improve if the Cavs are to improve. If he buys in the way LeBron James did, the Cavs will be vastly improved.

Hey, Pete: I don't see that, sorry. I don't think Cavs have reached any decisions on their draft picks yet, though.

Hey, Mary: In the Mike Brown 2.0 era, he has already referred Andy to Big Z. Do you think the Cavs take his player option next summer and then sign him to a lower long-term deal or is the front office and/or fans growing tired of "Wild Thing" and his injuries? -- Joe Alberts, Mentor

Hey, Joe: The Cavs are behind Varejao 100 percent. They want to see him completely healthy and back on the court as soon as possible.

Hey, Mary: I have liked the last two drafts. In retrospect, do you think the Cavs would have changed anything if they could redraft? -- Josh Crites, Seattle

Hey, Josh: I don't think the Cavs would do anything differently in either draft. In fact, it's possible Tristan Thompson wouldn't still be there at No. 4 if the 2011 draft was held today.

Hey, Ryan: I do think they're still interested, but not at any price. It remains to be seen if the sides can reach an agreement, even though Oden has indicated he'd like to play in Cleveland.

Hey, Mary: Is it realistic to think that the Cavs could acquire an additional first-round pick for their two second-round selections (picks 31 and 33) from a franchise like Boston (pick 16), Chicago (20), Brooklyn (22) or New York (24), who might be looking for a little relief from the NBA luxury tax, instead of adding another guaranteed contract from the first round? -- Bob Gainer, Akron

Hey, Bob: I think anything's possible, and the Cavs do love to acquire assets. If they're able to do so, I think they'd use the picks to try to move up higher in the draft or make a trade, as you suggest, rather than make three picks.

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